Brick-die.



C. C. KESTY.

BRICK DIE.

APPLICATlON FILED JUNE I7. 19M.

1,138,573. Patented May 4, 1915,

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

manua fliinesscs THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. LI. L

C. C. KESTY.

BRICK DIE.

APPLICATION FILED mm: I1. 1914.

Patented. May 4, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 CZaw/e-s 6%6 ll lull-ill, in! x THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-undo" WASHINGTON. D. C,

CHARLES C. KEs'TY,,or wnrsonrowlv, rEnivsYLvAnIA;

BRICK-DIE.

Q Specification'of Letters Patent; I V Patented Kay 4, 1915,

7 Application filed. June 17,1914. Serial No. 845,688.

To all whom. it may] concern. 7

Be it known that 1, CHARLES C. .Knsrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Watsontown, in the county of Northumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have in-' vented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Brick-Dies; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

-. exact description of therinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethesame.

This invention relates to plastic block and earthenware apparatus of that class known as die-expressing, and more particularly to sinuous face of one against the planeface of the next, and the sinuous projections spacethe bricks slightly so as to permit the entrance of the grouting, the latter flowing into the opposite grooves or channels before'it sets and thereby holding the bricks or blocks in true alin'ernen'tr, Yet I do not wish to be confined to this use of bricks made in'a'ccordance with the invention, because they may be equally well employed in building a wall or other structure,'especially as both edges and both ends are plane.

Throughout this specification I will speak of the devices as bricks.

The invention is carried out by an ap paratus hereinafter described, embodying an upright knife standing across the mouth Oroutlet of the die, mechanism for rocking the knife and 'reciprocatingit slightly on its own axis andrin timed relation to the exit ofthe column, andmeans for permitting the knife tomove bodily across said mouth,

with its' bearings f it have any;

In the drawings :-l ig1 1rei 1 is an elevation of the outlet end of a die provided with this improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof, showing one means for rocking'the knife. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through thec'enter of the die-mouth on the line 3+3 of Fig. 1, just above the lugswhich form the grooves along the sides ofthe brick. Fig. 4

is a vertic l ection through oneof the bear:

ings of. the" knife spindle, and the support for such bearing- Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of one of the bricks formed by this n1achine. p 7

I have shown my invention in the drawings as applied to any suitable form of die D whose outlet or mouth M is tapered slightly as shown, and I have not illustrated the means for mixing and expressing the clay. Norwill it be necessary for the purposes of this "invention to show'the platen onto which the column of clay is delivered by the die-mouth. .In these machinesas now manufactured and used, said column is of abo'utthe size of two bricks standing on edge and face to face, and with a machine of this character there is employed a cross cutting-device with mechanismfor actuatmg, it at intervals to sever orchop the column into sections whereofeach is the length of a brick, this cutter and mechanism being also omitted from the drawings. The purpose of the present invention is to divide the column into twosmaller columnsor brickcores, and, to make the line ofdivision wavy or sinuous so that one face of the finished bricks .will have slight protuberances or waves, and between them depressions or trou'ghs,-there being used about three of each to every brick. This I accomplish by mounting an upright knifel across the end ofthe' mouth M,-the blade portion of the knife being rather thin and not necessarily very wide, and its body above and below said plate being provided with rounded portions or journals 2 which are mounted in boxes 3, the latter in turn being loosely mou'nted'in transversely elongated slots 4 which are formed in supports '5 attached to the mouth M in any suitable manner. However, it is quite possible to omit the boxes and reduce the size of the slots so that the rounded portions of the knife shall be journaled loosely and directly within the supports. I prefer to use the boxes as shown. Above the uppermost. bearing the knife is continued into a spindle 6 which carries a lever "Z, "and the outer end of this lever is connected by a ball-and-socket joint 8 with a pitman rod 9. The remote end of this rod is pivoted on a wrist-pin 10' which projects from a'block l1 adjustably mounted in a radial slot 12 in a wheel 13, and held in adjusted position by any suitable means such as a set screw 1%. The wheel is carried by a shaft mounted in bearings 16 on the die D, and this shaft is rotated in synchronism with some moving part of the brickforming mechanism, as its ejector for instance, the purpose being to impart a rotation to the shaft 15 which will keep pace with the ejection oft-he brickcolumn. 7

The knife blade 1 stands in a plane 1 through the center of the die-mouth so that the column issuing therefrom is bisected.

As the crank wheel 13 rotatesit'causesa waving reciprocation of the blade, or in other words a rocking motion on 1ts own axis. As long as the blade stood edge on to the advancing clay it afforded little oi no resistance to the ejectlon of the column, but

as soon as it is turned out of its normal plane and even a little to one side, 1ts oblique disposition to the line of advance sets up resistance which tends to move the blade bodily to one side of the mouth, and this movement is permitted by the movement of the boxes within the slots 4:. By the time the knife has traveled bodily to one sidethe I crank wheel 13 makes a half rotation and I the knife is turned to the opposite oblique position, whereupon it travels back to the other ends of the slots 4. Meanwhile its cutting edgebisects the column of clay on a wavy or sinuous line as will be clear, whereor lugs 20, and

as the opposite or outer faces of the two brick cores thus produced will be smooth if the corresponding walls of the mouth M are formed with that end in view. I

V In order to produce longitudinal channels or grooves in both faces of the bricks being made, theknife 1 at about the center of its exposed portion within the mouth is provided on opposite sides with enlargements the upright walls of the mouth are provided with similar lugs 21. It may be that the latter lugs at times could be omitted, or they might be provided with mechanism for rendering them adjustable so as to render the grooves or channels in i the plane faces of the bricks deeper or shallower. In fact, if no grooves or channels at all were desired the knife could be replaced by another omitting the lugs 20. In order j to protect the bearings of the knife and to form smooth portions or paths 22 along that face of the brick which is provided with the sinuous portion 23, .lugs 24: may be formed 1. within the mouth M at top and bottom and Y in alinement with the axis of the knife-1.

The size of these lugs regulates the width of the smooth portions 22 on the brick25, but it will be understood that the lugs 20 and 21 cut the grooves 24. The proportions and materials are not important and need not be elaborated. I have found that the clay column being ejected may be moistened with water rather than oil as usual, and bricks are thereby produced which are in such a high state of perfection that cracks do not appear in them when they are fired, and anextremely small percentage of them fail to pass the test to which such bricks are subjected.

, What is claimed as new is 1. In a brick machine, the combination with thedie through whose mouth a clay column'isejected; of an upright knife movably mounted across said mouth, and means for rocking the knife on its own axis.

In a brick machine, the combination with he die through whose mouth a clay column is e ected; of supports above and below said mouth and having transverse slots, an upright knife movably mounted in o said slots, and means for rocking the knife on its own axis.

8. In a brick machine, the'combination" with the die through whose mouth a clay column is ejected; of supports above and below said mouth and having transverse slots, ournal boxes slidably mounted in said slots,

an upright knife rounded above and below its blade and having its rounded portions mounted in saidboxes, and means for rocking the knife on its own axis.

4. In a brick machine, with the die through whose mouth a clay column is ejected; ofsupports above and below said mouth and having transverse slots,

journal boxes slidably mounted in said slots, an upright knife rounded above and below its blade and having its rounded portions mounted in said boxes, a lever projecting from the upper end of the knife, and a reciprocatmg mechanism for said lever con-.

nected with a moving part of the columnforming machine. I p

5. In a brick machine, the combination with the die through whose mouth a clay column is ejected; of supports above and below said mouth and having transverse slots, journal boxes slidably mounted in said slots, an upright knife rounded above and below its blade and having its rounded portions mounted in said boxes, a shaft connected the combination.

with the column-forming mechanism, a wheel fast on said shaft and having a radial groove, a block adjustably mounted in said groove and carrying a wrist-pin, a lever fast on the upper end of said knife, and connections between said lever and wrist-pin;

6. In a brick machine, the combination with the die through whose mouth a clay column is ejected; of an upright knife standknife blade between said bearings, lugs within the end walls of said mouth and opposite those on the blade, and means for rocking said knife on its own axis.

8. In a brick machine, the combination with the die through whose mouth a clay column is ejected; of lugs within said mouth at the center of its top and bottom, bearings carried by the exterior of the mouth, a knife loosely mounted in said bearings and with its blade standing in line with said lugs, and means for rocking the knife on its own axis. 9. In a brick machine, the combination with the die through whose mouth a clay column is ejected; of lugs within said mouth at the center of its top and bottom, bearings carried by the exterior of the mouth, a knife loosely mounted in said bearings and with its blade standing in line with said lugs, lugs on the knife blade about midway between Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

said lugs in the mouth, and means for rocking the knife on its own axis.

10. In a brick machine, the combination with the die through whose mouth a clay column is ejected; of supports above and below said mouth and having transverse slots,

an upright knife rounded above and below its blade and having its rounded portions mounted in said slots, a shaft connected with the column-forming mechanism, a crank wheel fast on said shaft, a lever fast on the upper end of said knife, and connections between said lever and the crank of said wheel.

In, testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES C. KESTY.

Witnesses: h

B. FRANK FIsHER, WALTERVD. PARSONS.

Washington, D. 6. 

